Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a tilting pad thrust bearing and a tilting pad thrust bearing assembly, and more particularly, to a tilting pad thrust bearing which is configured such that a load concentrated on a portion of the thrust bearing by eccentricity or inclination of a rotating shaft such as a rotor can be dispersed, and a tilting pad thrust bearing assembly having the tilting pad thrust bearing.
Description of the Related Art
Generally, a bearing is a device which rotatably supports a rotating shaft or a reciprocating shaft. Bearings are classified into sliding bearings and roller bearings according to a method in which a shaft makes contact with a bearing. Furthermore, according to a direction in which a load is applied to the shaft, bearings are classified into radial bearings and thrust bearings. Thrust bearings are used to support axial thrust force of a rotating shaft such as a turbine rotor or the like which rotates at high speed.
Typically, turbines convert thermal energy of combustion gas or steam supplied from a boiler into rotational force of a turbine rotor and drives a generator using the rotational force of the rotor, thus producing electricity. The axial thrust force of the turbine rotor is supported by thrust bearings.
Nowadays, increasingly, equipment such as turbine rotors is designed such that a rotating shaft thereof can be rotated at high speed to increase the efficiency of the equipment with a reduced weight.
Thus, the rotating shaft may be inclined by vibration or its own weight. If the rotating shaft is inclined, a concentrated load is applied to a portion of the thrust bearing which supports the rotating shaft.
As such, if a concentrated load is applied to a portion of the thrust bearing by inclination of the rotating shaft, the thrust bearing having pads is problematic in that a temperature difference between upper pads and lower pads is caused, whereby vibration intensifies because of thermal deformation.
Furthermore, in the conventional thrust bearing, a pad or tilting pad may be damaged by a concentrated load. In this case, replacement of the thrust bearing is required, thus increasing maintenance costs. Moreover, the operation of equipment such as a turbine must be interrupted to replace the thrust bearing with another one, so that the productivity is reduced.
In addition, the conventional tilting pad thrust bearing is problematic in that due to a complex structure, the production cost and time are increased, and the thickness of the bearing is excessively increased.